The Importance of Soil

One of my Zinfandel grape growers, Ray Teldeschi has always told me that its his Dry Creek soil that makes the grapes; he often says, "You can taste the soil". A recent post on the...

Grapes Looking Good

The articles keep coming in professing the same things: a bigger and later harvest thanlast year, the grapes are undergoing verasion, and weather for the rest of the year is critical to maintain high quality....

Topped of Zins

Yesterday, Tom topped off all the reds at the winery. He went through 14 gals. of GrapeLeaf: Syrah- Nicholson Ranch. Most were down about a liter. Also, he added 15ppm SO2 to each barrel(50 ml...

2002 California Grape Tonnage Estimates

According the Allied Grape Grower's article, 2002 crop forecast is released by the State, Early in July, the State of California Ag Statistics Service released the first 2002 grape crop forecast. In August the State...

Topped off home wines

Last night, I topped off my home wines with about 300 ml. of 1999 Grape Leaf: Cuvee Noir and 350 ml of 2001 Baobob: Chenin Blanc. The ambient temperature was 64. Slight thermal expansion but...